Wayward with the sun
by lomm9
Summary: A mysterious girl comes to Iroh to request an audience with fire lord Zuko. She has information she'd like him to know: Zuko has a little brother. Now the fire lord, this mysteriou girl, and the rest of the Gaang go try and track down Zuko's supposed brother. But their informant may not be trustworthy. She fought with the fire nation during the war. Is she truly loyal to the Gaang?


**Heads up there is spoilers from The Search so if you haven't read it and plan to heads up. I played with an idea "The Search" too. OC may seem cliche with the whole archer thing at first. But I'm going to try my best add depth as the chapters go on to make her more unique. I'll try to avoid making her a Mary Sue... I hate them too. Iroh is important in this chapter and Zuko shows up next chapter, along with the rest of the Gaang.**

**Please tell me if my OC is annoying, boring or Mary Sue. Or if the canon characters seem to OC.**

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The great city of Ba Sing Se, Iroh had always been stupefied by its immense power. The ways the walls stood, towering over the city, the grand nature of the city within had always inspired him in some way. When he was a young man, he saw it as a challenge. He thought that tearing down the walls would make him a hero. He could imagine his name in a history book; his entire nation would see him as the greatest General of all time. Nobody one would hesitate when he took his place on the throne and his father would finally see him as the fire lord he inspired to be. Not the weak child he viewed him as before. But most importantly his son, Lu Ten would look up to him. His son, his pride and joy would see him as a hero, the greatest man of all time.

It wasn't until after his son died that Iroh's views of the city changed. The city suddenly seemed like an immense grave yard, consuming his world as he constantly tried to fight back. As the siege raged on and on all Iroh could see is the corpse of his beloved son, lying unceremoniously on the battle field. When the city stole his son, they stole all of the fight he had left in him. His son the image of his beloved Tama was gone. Iroh felt he had nothing to live for. He contemplated killing himself. When world was such a dark place he wondered why he was trying to face it at all.

In the end it was Zuko who saved him. After his mother was banished the boy needed someone to rely on. Ozai, Iroh's blood-thirsty brother and Zuko's father, was not fit to take care of his son; he seemed to hate the boy. Not hesitating to murder his only son. And Zuko's sister wasn't any better; the girl was ruthless, a monster. Azula seemed to celebrate when she heard that her father was going to murder her only brother. The two of them seemed to team up against the boy and Iroh knew he had to take him in. So Iroh became the father Zuko needed, and Zuko became the son Iroh needed to carry on. The only one he ever loved as much as Lu Ten.

It was with Zuko that the city became what it was today. A home.

So far the day had been an uneventful one at the Jasmine Dragon, not the Iroh minded. He was getting to old for too much excitement anyway. As Iroh warmed up his half drunken tea with his fire bending he smiled to himself at the irony found in his own life. Who knew the city he was bent on destroying would end up being the place that he spends the end of the days?

"Your kind isn't welcome here!" A man's voice shouted from the dining area of his shop and Iroh jumped, nearly spilling his tea.

"Seriously man I don't want any trouble … just a cup of tea." A girl's voice shouted back. She sounded young, it made Iroh uneasy.

"If you don't leave now I'll…!" Iroh cringed to a cacophony that sounded suspiciously like breaking dished filled the room.

"Take one more step towards me and I will not hesitate to shoot you!" At this Iroh, jumped from ran out of the kitchen and into the dining room.

Iroh wasn't sure what he suspected, but he certainly didn't expect this. The room was dead quiet, eerily still. Every eye in the room stood at the same to figures. Shattered porcelain plates and tea cups lay next to an over turned table. A regular customer of Iroh, Gem stood in the center of the room. A solider from the war there was no doubt he was an intimidating guy. Built like a bear he had to have been twice Iroh's height and standing with his shoulders squared his red face was scrunched into a snarl he looked like someone you wouldn't want to mess with. A red vein throbbed out of the side of his neck he looked like his head was going to blow any minute now

Standing across from Gem stood a girl; she was pretty and young, around the age of his nephew. Her hair was styled in two neat pigtail braids; holding a knocked bow just below her waist she kept an absolutely emotionless expression. Keeping a fixed stare on Gem, the girl looked surprisingly relaxed for someone standing off against someone easily twice her size. Iroh had to admit, he was slightly impressed.

But taking one look at the archers conservative outfit he immediately knew what had set Gem off.

The girl was fire nation.

"What is going on in here" Iroh spoke. He kept his voice calm to avoid escalating the tension.

"Gigantor over there won't leave me along" The girl explained never dropping her gaze.

"This young woman is fire nation" Gem complained "Her kind caused suffering for 100 years."

"We all have emotions left over from the war" Iroh explained "But this new world must be a new world of peace. It cannot be kindled by hatred."

"But the girl's fire nation" Gem sputtered out between clenched teeth. "We just got this city back… She's a risk to our freedom!"

"The war is over" Iroh tried to explain. "Now is the time for heali…"

"The war is not over!" Gem interrupted. "Everybody who thinks it is the enemy of the Earth Kingdom!'

Teeth bared he let out an animalistic grow. Iroh recognized that expression plastered on Gem face. It was a look of pure hatred, a look that often led to violence. Iroh strengthened his stance.

"I am so sick of people telling me the war is over… It's not." He growled to no one in particular. We should be rallying our troops, getting ready for the next invasion. We need to be prepared! And nobody should be telling us otherwise" At that he barreled straight for Iroh.

Iroh took a fighting stance preparing him to redirect Gem's attack. But he never had too. Gem had been thrown against a wall, an arrow pinning the sleeve of his shirt against the plaster. Another arrow pinned his other sleeve of his arm as well.

"Take another step" said a cold voice "and I promise this arrow will be the last thing you ever see"

All the eyes on the room looked to the only person who could be responsible. The girl's bow was drawn, string touching her nose. She stared at him with emotionless eyes like she didn't care if the man lived or died. Relaxing her bow she walked forward to him with a slow and steady gait.

There was a moment of complete silence. The tension suffocated the room as people's expressions ranged from wide-eyed to red faced. The girl didn't drop her bow; her eye's becoming colder after seeing Gem's rebellious expression.

"Don't shoot him" Iroh stated calmly. "He is just confused."

Iroh walked forward from the center of the room. Pulling the arrows out of the wall he freed Gem from his prison. For a second Gem locked eyes with the old man, his vacant eyes and pink cheeks seemed very uncharacteristic for the strong willed man. Having no fight in him Gem let his arms fall to his side.

"I'd leave if I were you" the archer's voice had the same indifferent tone. "You cause problems here again and my promise still stands."

Gem sent one last murderous glance at the girl. "She just proved my point. The fire nation is full of ruthless killers." Before anyone could react he walked out the door, followed by two of his friends. Iroh was surprised that they didn't help him; usually soldiers from the war were quite close always helping each other out. It was strange, almost unnerving.

Iroh was interrupted from his from his thoughts by a loud sigh. The young woman relaxed, lowering her bow and placing the arrow back into the quiver strapped to her side. "Well that was close." She said. "I seriously thought I was going to have to shoot him."

"Me too" was the only thing Iroh could say in reply. He looked the girl in the eyes and gave a respectful bow. "My name is Iroh. I am the owner of this restaurant. Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Oh" Raeden said quickly, eyebrows giving a twitch toward the ceiling. She awkwardly returned the bow. "I am Raeden" She gave him a vivacious smile "And yes please"

Iroh prepared his guest a cup of hot ginseng tea. There was something "off" about her. She was unnaturally still as she sat on one of the many couches in the workers area of the Jasmine Dragon.

"No wonder you are so good with your bow" Iroh said attempting to break the ice. "Your head band is the symbol of the Yu Yan archers is it not."

Raeden's hand immediately went to the headband tucked beneath her braids. "Oh. It was my fathers. He was a member."

"You know" Iroh said. "It was probably unwise to come into the city in fire nation clothing. Though the war is over the wounds are still fresh from the war."

"Yeah" Raeden smiled sadly smoothing down her shirt "I probably should have thought things through better. Sorry for causing trouble General."

"General" Iroh smiled to himself "That was a title one I held a long time ago" Iroh poured the hot tea into his guests cup before sitting on the couch across from the girl. "So what brings you to Ba Sing Se?"

"Actually" she placed her tea on the coffee table. "I came to talk to you"

Iroh nodded breathing in the hot steam of his tea "How may I help you?"

"I realize you have a close relationship with the fire lord" Her tone turned serious as she sat up straighter. "I have information that he may want to know"

Iroh's eyebrows shot up at the mention of his nephew. She seemed to notice that she was treading on thin ice and gave him a comforting smile. "I assure you he is no danger; I just have information about his heritage." She sent a glance around the room looking for anyone before lowering his voice. "His true heritage."

At those words Iroh's stomach quivered as one eyebrow shot towards the ceiling. There was no way that this girl could know of his nephew's true heritage. Iroh himself had only just found out who the fire lords "blood father" was. As far as he knew only people close to Zuko knew the truth, the Avatar and his friends, himself, his sister, his mother, Ozai, and his true father. But this girl was a total stranger; she'd never met the fire lord so how the hell did she know the truth. If more people knew the truth Zuko could be in danger of losing his throne.

"I can promise you, the secrets safe with me." Raeden continued. "But there is information that I believe the fire lord would like to know. That is why I was wondering if you could get me an audience with him?"

Iroh listened intently to the girl trying to find any lie that she could be telling. After taking another sip of his tea he said. "May I ask what this information is?"

"He has a brother" Raeden said bluntly "A younger brother. His name is Shiro, he's the son of Ursa, has to be about 7 by now. I got information a while back that he may be living in an orphanage within the Earth kingdom."

Iroh sat his tea down on the table and scratched his jaw. He brought this young woman in as a guest and now she tells him this lie. She wants him to believe that Zuko has another brother, that there was somehow another son of Ursa. The idea was preposterous. For all he knew she could be trying to murder his nephew.

Yet there was something in her expression. A look of desperation, inner turmoil, that made him wonder if she was telling the truth. He looked into her tawny eyes and he could tell that she had a troubled. See seemed full of self-doubt and by the way she held herself he could tell she has her regrets. This was a girl looking for redemption, Iroh could tell. He had seen that look on one person before, his nephew Zuko.

"I can't get you an audience with the fire lord. The information you have is too delicate for a formal meeting. I couldn't risk my nephews throne" Iroh picked up his tea as he watched the girl lower her head as hope leaked from her eyes. "But you can still talk to my nephew."

She sat up quickly a smile plastering to her face, before she found the flaw in his logic. "Um, how?"

Iroh smiled. "You're going to have to sneak into the palace."

Raeden ran her hands through her hair. "I could have done that on my own. I came here for a diplomatic meeting to avoid getting caught."

Iroh sipped his tea again. "You will have to run the risk of getting caught in order to get an audience with the fire lord. But I can tell you how to get past the Kyoshi warriors, Zuko's guards. They're the best in the world; very few people have the skills to evade them."

Iroh stared at her for a moment and Raeden realized something.

"You know who I am, don't you? What I do?" Raeden said

"I know who you were. What you did. People can change." Iroh explained. Raeden just stared at him; if most people knew who she was they'd turn her in, or kill her in the spot. "So are you wondering how you get into the palace?"

"Yes, sir" Raeden said.

It took them two pots of tea and three bathroom breaks to finish creating a plan. By the time they finished, the sun had set and the dining room of the Jasmine dragon was devoid.

"General Iroh" Raeden said bowing as she walked out the door of Jasmine Dragon. "Your tea was amazing."

"Thank you I try." Iroh replied giving the girl a smile. He followed her into the lantern lit street. "Do you need a ride out of Ba Sing Se?"

"No" She said before pulling out and blowing a whistle. 3 seconds after the loud shriek dissipated from the air a large green shape flew over his head before landing behind Raeden. He recognized the creature immediately, its long legs, height, airline shape and green coloration gave it away. He'd seen this creature many times before, it was an eel hound. "I think I've got it covered. Koji here can get me to the fire nation in about a day."

She mounted the 8ft high eel hound with incredible ease.

"I gave you information in great trust" Iroh said before Raeden could leave. "If any harm were to come to my nephew… Well then I'd know who's responsible." Raeden nodded slowly, Iroh didn't seem like the type of man to make threats. She may have underestimated the bond between this man and the fire lord.

"I assure you my loyalties lay with the fire nation" Raeden said. "I mean fire lord Zuko no harm. Plus I wouldn't dare make an adversary of the Dragon of the West" She gave him a wink. "Thank you General"

"Thank you, and good luck."

With that the girl lead her eel hound down the street. He watched until the eight foot tall beast disappeared into the darkness.

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**I'll try to update ASAP**


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